Original Research Article
Year: 2019 | Month: January-March | Volume: 4 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 44-51
Menstrual Hygiene Knowledge and Practices amongst Adolescent Girls in Urban Slums of Dibrugarh Town- A Cross Sectional Study
Pranjal Sonowal1, Kaushik Talukdar2
1Assistant Professor, Dept of Community Medicine; Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh-02, Assam
2Demonstrator, Dept of Community Medicine; Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh-02, Assam
ABSTRACT
Introduction: In Indian society menstruation is still regarded as something unclean or dirty and linked with several misconceptions and practices which results in adverse health outcomes. Good hygienic practices such as the use of sanitary pads and adequate washing of the genital area are essential during menstruation.
Aim and Objectives: 1) To assess the knowledge and practices of menstrual hygiene amongst adolescent girls in urban slums of Dibrugarh town 2) To assess the association between menstrual hygiene practices and type of family amongst the adolescent girls.
Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in July-September 2018 among 150 adolescent girls. A pre-designed, pretested questionnaire was used in the study. Descriptive statistics were applied in data analysis.
Results: The mean age of menarche in the study group was 12.53 ± 1.235 years. Only 49.3% girls were aware of menstruation before menarche. More than four fifth of the girls were not aware of the cause and 72% did not know the source of bleeding. 76.7% study population used sanitary pad only while 15.3% used both cloth and sanitary napkins during the time of menstruation.
Conclusion: Awareness regarding the need for information about healthy menstrual practices is very important. It is essential to design a mechanism to address and gain the access of hygienic menstrual practices for adolescent girls.
Key words: Menstruation, Awareness, Healthy practices